India has entered into the ‘Unlock 3.0’ and most of the states are opening their destinations by following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by Ministry of Home Affairs. However, since the numbers of COVID-19 cases are still growing, the people of the country are avoiding traveling at the moment.
In order to boost touristic activities, Ministry of Tourism along with the travel-trade associations, is organising virtual seminars to educate the travel partners to adopt ‘New Normal’ post COVID-19 era and create a safe and hygiene atmosphere for the tourist who wish to travel in near future.
Talking about expediting the touristic activities, Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India said that the first step towards normalcy is to create a perception of safety among the travellers.
“The most significant enabler for times to come is the safety factor- people have to feel safe to travel. It must be a joint effort of not only the government institutions and travel associations, but the industry and citizens too,” she added.
Due to the spread out of COVID-19 pandemic across the globe people will avoid travelling long haul destinations initially. Considering the current situation it is expected that only domestic visits can begin touristic activities. “We need to look at creating short travel itineraries. Most of the states are in the process of curating one or two night itineraries,” she informed.
Brar said that every state has different protocols related to COVID-19. “In order to create ease of travel, there is a need to have harmonization of rules. We are already in touch with various states and once we align travel rules to one or two common systems across the country, people will feel more inclined to travel,” she said.
